Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais

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Order Code 98-396 GOV
Updated April 24, 2008
Guide to Individuals Seated onthe House Dais
Mildred Amer
Specialist in American Government
Government and Finance Division
The House of Representatives meets in the Capitol in the House chamber. In the
front of the
Dais
Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
November 10, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
98-396
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais
T
he House of Representatives meets in the House chamber of the Capitol. In the front of the
chamber is a three-tiered, elevated dais. Seated or standing at a sizable lectern(the heightof which is adjustable) on the top level of the dais is the presiding officer.Members of theHouse sit in one of 448 unassigned seats arranged in a semicircle facingthe presiding officer.Facing the dais, Republicans traditionally sit to the right of the
center aisle, Democrats to the left.
Top Tier
Speaker of the House. center aisle, Democrats to the left.
A photograph of the House dais can be found on the Internet at http://www.clerk.house.gov by
placing a cursor on the “Legislative Activities” button on the top navigation bar, which will cause
a color photograph of the Speaker’s dais to appear.1
Top Tier
Speaker of the House
The only seat at the top tier of the dais is that of theSpeaker, who is the presiding officer whenthe House is meeting as the House. When notpresiding, the Speaker appoints a Speaker protempore to perform the duties of thepresiding officer. When the House is meeting in theCommittee of the Whole House onthe state of the Union (the Committee of the Whole), thechairman (a majority-partymember named by the Speaker) occupies this seat. During a jointsession or meeting ofthe House and Senate, a second seat is added for the Vice President to occupy.
Parliamentarian.
occupy.
Parliamentarian
Usually observed standing to the left of and slightly below thepresiding officer (viewed from therear of the chamber) is the House Parliamentarian oran assistant Parliamentarian. In this role, theParliamentarian counsels the Speaker orchairman of the Committee of the Whole on rules andprecedents and attends thepresiding officer in performing his or her duties.Sergeant at Arms. Off the dais on the left, the Sergeant at Arms, (or a deputy,) isseated at a separate table. Duringlegislative proceedings, an assistant Parliamentarianoften sits at this table or stands near it.Elected by the House, the Sergeant at Arms iscustodian of the mace, the symbol of parliamentarypower and authority. When the Houseis meeting as the House, the mace is on a pedestal to theSpeaker’s left (viewed from therear of the chamber). When the House is meeting as theCommittee of the Whole, theSergeant at Arms moves the mace to a lower pedestal.Speaker’s Page. Seated beside the Sergeant at Arms is the Speaker’s page, whoassists the presiding officer duringeach day’s session.
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Clerk of the House.
1
Additional views of the House chamber may be found by clicking the “Art and History” button on the top navigation
bar. In the “Art and History” section, these views can be found by clicking on “Art, Artifacts, and Architecture” on the
top menu bar and going to the “The House Chamber” link in the section on “The Capitol Today.”
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Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais
Clerk of the House
The Clerk of the House is seated to the right of and slightlybelow the presiding officer (asviewed from the rear of the chamber). Elected by theHouse, the Clerk is the chamber’s chieflegislative official. The Clerk’s duties includecertifying the passage of bills, delivering messagesto the Senate, and affixing the seal ofthe House on all formal documents. The Clerk also presidesover a new session ofCongress until a Speaker is elected. Except for ceremonial occasions suchas jointmeetings and sessions, the clerk spends little time seated on the dais.
Timekeeper.
Timekeeper
The area near the Clerk’s seat might be occupied by a timekeeper,who is on the staff of theParliamentarian. The timekeeper keeps the time used duringHouse debate and other proceedingsand provides that information to the presidingofficer.Documentarian Pages. Further to the right and off of the dais are twodocumentarian pages who operate the legislativelights and bells that signal votes, quorumcalls, or adjournment. These and other House pages,seen working throughout thechamber, also provide Members with copies of all documents (suchas bills and reports)that are needed during a day’s session of the House.
Middle Tier
The middle level of the dais is occupied by employees of the Clerk of the House. TheClerk’slectern is also on this level. It is from this lectern that the House Chaplain or guestchaplain offersprayers, the President delivers the State of the Union address or otheraddresses to Congress,invited dignitaries address joint meetings of Congress, and a clerkreads bills and other businessto the House.Journal Clerk. To the far left of the Clerk’s lectern (viewed from the rear of thechamber) is a journal clerk, whocompiles the House’s daily minutes. These minutes arethe official record required by theConstitution and published as the House Journal.Tally Clerk. Between the journal clerk and next to the Clerk’s lectern is the tallyclerk, who operates the electronicvoting system, oversees the recording of votes on theHouse floor, receives reports of committees,and prepares the Calendars of the UnitedStates House of Representatives and History ofLegislation. This tally clerk may bereferred to as the “seated tally clerk.” (See below forinformation on a second tally clerk,who stands during a vote.)
Reading Clerk.
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Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais
Reading Clerk
To the right of the Clerk’s lectern is a reading clerk, who isresponsible for reading aloudcommunications from the Senate and President, House bills,amendments, Members’ votechanges, and other business. During busy legislativeperiods, there may be two reading clerkspresent.
Lower Tier
The lower tier is also occupied by employees of the Clerk of the House.Bill Clerk. On the far left of the lower level of the dais (viewed from the rear of thechamber) is a bill clerk.This area is also where the “hopper” is located, in which
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a box into which Members place measures theywish to introduce. The bill clerk receives and processesbills and resolutions and receives lists ofcosponsors, texts of amendments, andcommunications to the House.
Enrolling Clerk. The bill clerk also keeps
any active discharge petitions here for Members who wish to sign them.
Enrolling Clerk
A seat is reserved on the lower level of the dais (left of center)for an enrolling clerk, whoprepares the official (engrossed)engrossed copy of all House-passedmeasures (for messaging to the Senate,
when applicable) and the official (enrolled)enrolled copy of all HouseoriginatedHouse-originated measures (for transmittalto the White House for presidential action, when applicable). The . The
enrolling clerk does not usuallysit on the dais during the course of the day since the clerkis able to monitor televised floorproceedings.Tally Clerk. During a vote, a tally clerk stands on the lower level of the dais directlyin front of the seated tallyclerk (see above) to take “well cards” (paper ballots) fromMembers casting votes or changingvotes after the electronic voting stations are locked.This tally clerk may be referred to as the“standing tally clerk.” This clerk prepares the yeaand nay tally sheets for the presiding officer atthe end of each vote.Daily Digest Clerk. Another seat is reserved on the lower level of the dais (left ofcenter) for a Daily Digest clerk,who prepares the information published in the DailyDigest section of the Congressional Record.The Daily Digest clerk does not usually siton the dais during the course of the day since the clerkis able to monitor televised floorproceedings.
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Guide to Individuals Seated on the House Dais
Official Reporters of Debate. In the center of the lower level of the dais are theclerks to the official reporters of debate. Theyare responsible for keeping track of flooractivity and receiving text for the CongressionalRecord. Further to the right are seats for official reporters awaiting their turn to work on theHouse floor.
The official reporters who are transcribing sit at a table in the well of the House infront of thelower level of the dais. This table also holds a box containing the “well cards”(paper ballots) used by Members
Members may use to cast or change votes. Two podiums, located on eitherside of this table, areused by Members to speak from the well of the House, thus facingtheir colleagues in the House chamber.
An illustration of the House chamber and dais can be found on the Internet at
[http://www.clerk.house.gov]. At this site, a user should place a cursor on the Legislative
Activities button on the top navigation bar, which will cause a color photograph of the
Speaker’s dais to appear. Additional views of the House chamber may be found by
clicking the Art and History button on the top navigation bar.
chamber. 2
Author Contact Information
Valerie Heitshusen
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
vheitshusen@crs.loc.gov, 7-8635
Acknowledgments
This report was originally written by Mildred Amer, former Specialist on the Congress. The listed author
has updated the report and can respond to inquiries on the subject.
2
Under some circumstances, members speak not from the well, but from one of four party tables that sit among the
chamber’s permanent seats. The tables are used by the party leaders or by members of committees who are responsible
for coordinating floor consideration of legislation.
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